Ecosystem Roles

As predators, chimpanzees may be a factor in structuring populations of their prey species. Certainly, they have a strong impact on red colobus monkeys (Colobus mitis) at Gombe, and they are likely to have effects on other species as well. As frugivores, chimps may help to disperse seeds of certain plants, either through transportation, or by processing the fruit. There are competitive interactions with other primates, and so chimpanzees may have an additional negative effect on other primate species. (Jones et al., 1996; Nowak, 1999)

Various parsites, such as intestinal helminths, trematodes, and schistosomes, have been reported in these animals. (Jones et al., 1996)